IN BRIEF (Page 1)

Updated: 2012-01-10 08:09

(HK Edition)

Another failed contender in the December district council (DC) election has gone to court to challenge the poll results.

Winfield Chong Wing-fai, who lost by 22 votes in Sai Wan constituency in Central and Western District, filed a petition with the High Court on Monday, alleging there were 202 problematic registrations among more than 7,000 electors in the constituency. He complained that the voter registration system was "child's play" and said the electoral office had failed its duty to monitor the polls.

Fung Shui master bond over

The prosecution dropped the charge against a well-known Fung Shui master and an elderly man, who were involved in a fight at a bus station in August last year.

Yu Chi-lun, 50, who stepped into the public spotlight when he testified against Tony Chan in the battle over the estate of deceased property tycoon Nina Wang and Pang Yiu-fat, 74, were both put on HK$1,000 good behavior bond in the Eastern Magistrates' Court.

According to Yu, the fight started because he was trying to help a woman who had accused Pang of indecent assault. But Pang said he was wrongly accused. Yu also claimed he had foreseen some bad luck before the incident.

Customs officer sentenced in fire

A customs officer, who set a bulletin board on fire in a drunken state, was sentenced to 240 hours of community service in the District Court on Monday.

Wong Pak-keung, 27, earlier pleaded guilty to the charge of arson for igniting a bulletin board after loitering in the empty lobby of the Kwun Tong public estate building where he lives, at around 4 am on March 7 last year. The closed circuit television captured the scene.

Two smuggling rings dismantled

Customs has cracked down on illicit tobacco smuggling syndicates after discovering 6,600 kg of tobacco in airmail parcels destined for the UK last month.

An investigation was carried out after the tobacco, in 417 packets, was detected at the Airmail Centre.

Four people were arrested in the one-month operation. A total of over 9,500 kg of illicit tobacco valued at about HK$7 million was seized.

Malpractice on the rise

Statistics from the Hospital Authority (HA) shows there were 44 severe medical malpractice incidents reported in Hong Kong from October 2010 to September 2011, a 33 percent rise over the previous year.

Among the 44 medical malpractices, 18 involved surgical instruments left inside patients' bodies. Lawmaker Cheung Man-kwong asked whether the lack of experienced doctors was the major cause. The HA Director (Cluster Services) Cheung Wai-lun admitted the problem of healthcare manpower shortage was severe. "The reduced number of medical graduates has created a shortage of some 200 doctors in Hong Kong." Cheung guaranteed that there has been a series of measures taken by the HA to improve this.